Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future

Shapiro (law, social policy, Brandeis Univ.; The Hidden Cost of Being African American) evaluates wealth disparities among African Americans and compares them to those of white Americans. He argues that the differences must be understood in tandem with racial inequality. Similar to the experiences chronicled in memoirs by Dalton Conley (Being Black; Living in the Red) and Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me), Shapiro's compares lifestyles and family experiences, allowing readers to consider inequality through the eyes of families who experience economic and social disparity firsthand. The author's interviews, research, and decadeslong case studies explore the reality of the choices that impoverished families need to make. These decisions impact earning power and further highlight the differences between income and wealth, especially in matters such as home equity, employer benefits, and sources of financial assistance.